Wellcome
Trust-DBT India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowships in India , and
applications are submitted till 14
May 2015. The
Wellcome Trust/ DBT India Alliance invite applications for Margdarshi fellowships from
visionary biomedical scientists to lead and nucleate a cutting edge
research program in India in collaboration with a host institution.
The Fellowship is awarded for five years. Candidates of all
nationalities and origins are eligible to apply (not be Indian
nationals or of Indian origin). There is no age limit to apply
for this Fellowship. Applicants would normally be expected to be
running an independent laboratory for 10 years or more and have a
strong scientific record. Full details:

Beneficiaries(Target
Groups): Wellcome
Trust-DBT India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowships are
targeted for Candidates of all nationalities and origins are eligible
to apply (Candidates need not be Indian nationals or of Indian origin
but must already be pursuing or intending to pursue an academic
research career in India).

Benefits(Value/ Inclusions):

‣Award No: The Margdarshi Fellowship Committee will decide the number of Fellowships to be awarded in a given year and the final budget for each programme based on the quality of the cohort and individual applications.

‣Scholarship Duration: The Fellowship is awarded for five years.

‣Scholarship
covers: The
Fellowship provides:

-Generous
personal support for the Fellow

-Salary
support for personnel, which may include Assistant Professors

-Equipment,
animals and consumables

-Funds
to attend scientific gatherings, for collaborative visits and to
organize meetings.

-Overheads
for the Host Institution

For
2015-16, INR 22 Crore (~ USD 3.5 million; GBP 2.3 million) has been
allocated for the Margdarshi programme. This includes the costs
requested by the applicant and the host institution, as well as the
India Alliance’s contributions on the Fellow’s personal support
and institutional overhead charges. Costs requested by the
applicant should be commensurate with their proposed program and
should be fully justified in the application. Inadequate
justifications may result in costs being revised. Detailed
budgets are not required at the time of application. However, if
short-listed, the India Alliance will seek a detailed justified
budget from the applicant prepared in consultation with the host
institution.

Description

‣An
opportunity for visionary biomedical scientists to lead and nucleate
a cutting edge research programme in India.

‣This
Wellcome
Trust-DBT India Alliance Margdarshi Fellowships scheme
is for scientific leaders who already lead their own research
laboratory/group and wish to relocate from their current institution
(in India or overseas) to a not-for-profit research institute or
university in India.

‣The
underlying philosophy in launching this fellowship is to replicate
global standards of scientific excellence, and minimize disparities
in scientific and administrative capacity, among research institutes
and universities across India.

Eligibility

‣ Candidates of all nationalities and origins are eligible to apply if they are pursuing or intend to pursue research at an institution in India.

‣ Candidates need not be Indian nationals or of Indian origin but must already be pursuing or intending to pursue an academic research career in India.

‣ There is no age limit to apply for this Fellowship. Applicants would normally be expected to be running an independent laboratory for 10 years or more, and have a strong scientific record.

‣ The following attributes would be expected of eligible candidates: demonstrated leadership skills, made significant contributions in research, mentored young scientists and students, attracted extra mural funds from peer-reviewed competitive sources, established collaborations, successfully initiated programmes of advanced scientific research and maintained high ethical standards.

‣ To be eligible, an Applicant must be sponsored by a Host Institution located in India. This scheme provides the flexibility of choosing two Host Institutions.

‣ The joint application will be reviewed by the Margdarshi Selection Committee of India Alliance to assess the eligibility, remit and competitiveness.

‣ The review process primarily evaluates applicant’s track record in the proposed area, resources available at the Host Institution, concept of the proposed programme, its potential to create new directions of research at the Host Institution, the extent to which it is a new development, involvement of Sponsor/Host Institution and their commitment to assess the feasibility of the programme.

To apply, the Applicant and the Sponsor(s) should submit a Joint application. This application includes:

‣ Applicant Form: The Applicant is responsible for creating an application using the online form available on IASys. The Lead Applicant will complete the application form and also invite Sponsor(s) on the application. This leads to creation of separate sponsorship forms.

‣ Sponsorship Form: The Lead Applicant and the Sponsor submit their respective forms individually.

‣ However, submission of Lead Applicant’s form is contingent upon successful submission of the sponsorship form by the Sponsor. It is therefore important for the Sponsorship Form to be submitted within the specified deadline to allow the Lead Applicant to complete the process of submission.

‣If there is more than one institution participating in the programme, both the Primary and the Secondary sponsors will fill in their respective sponsorship forms, which will be made available to the Sponsor(s) by the Applicant through IASys. Please note that the Sponsor form has to be filled in by the Sponsor and not by the Applicant. A breach of confidentiality on this matter will disqualify the Applicant.

‣ Consent Form: The Sponsor should confirm his/her willingness by filling in the consent form. If there is more than one institution participating in the programme both the Sponsors should upload their individual consent forms on the system. A format is included in the application form.

‣ Scholarship Applications are due on 14 May 2015.

‣ Application forms and guidelines can be download from the official website

‣ It is important to read the application procedure, and visit the official websites (link found below) for detailed information on how to applyfor this scholarship.